Challenging parts

02-18-2013, 12:03 PM

What are the most challenging parts of life with your child or children?

For me, it would be getting the right communicative response to something such as a rude word being used, a rude tone, an inappropriate comment. How to respond without sarcasm, responding back in a rude way, or not gently communicating the right way to use those words/actions.

Right now, sibling rivalry is the most difficult part of parenting. My oldest two are away at college, but the 17, 15, 13 year olds are struggling terribly with their youngest brother, 6. He is a persistent, sensory seeker who gets in their space more often than they would like and they do not self-regulate under those conditions any better than he does. My "coaching" falls on deaf ears - he is the baby and they view him as being spoiled. In their eyes, this must look doubly bad because it was with his arrival that we did a 180* in our parenting style.

Do you feel that some of the challenge might also be to not feel guilty with the other children when you have done a whole 180* with the family? I can imagine that is going on as well since you have the research of a different kind that you are reading that is driving your parenting decisions now.